IT’S a fair vote of confidence in the abilities of both Auguste Rodin and Salt Lake City that they are the chosen duo for Aidan O’Brien in today’s Group 1 Vertem Futurity Stakes at Doncaster.

O’Brien had eight options in all at the start of the week in his bid to win this race for a record-breaking 11th time. More often than not he has won it with a real star - High Chaparral (2001), St Nicholas Abbey (2009), Camelot (2011), Saxon Warrior (2017), Magna Grecia (2018) and Luxembourg last year.

Five of that sextet had two previous runs while Camelot had just the one, winning a Leopardstown maiden before his run at Doncaster. Three of the six had won the Beresford while the other three were just maiden winners. Auguste Rodin didn’t win the Beresford but did stake his claim in a similar test in the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes, a race that has progressed in stature over the last decade.

Should he win today, he will have a similar profile to O’Brien’s best winners of this race and will be strongly fancied to make a big impact in his classic year. He is 10/1 third favourite for the 2000 Guineas and the same price, but at the top of the market, for the Derby.

The Vertem Futurity, known previously as the Racing Post Trophy and Timeform Futurity, traditionally would have been viewed as more likely to produce a Derby contender but O’Brien has changed that, with Camelot, Saxon Warrior and Magna Grecia all scoring at Newmarket the following May, while Luxembourg was a creditable third in the race this year. Interestingly, High Chaparral and Brian Boru, who O’Brien won this race with in 2002, were campaigned as Derby horses straight away, indeed Brian Boru eventually ended up going back to Doncaster to win the St Leger.

Auguste Rodin is the focus but it’s interesting Salt Lake City is allowed to take his chance and all the more so that he has been tipped by Donn McClean (see page 62). That he has only won a maiden clearly is not a significant negative given the trends discussed above. Indeed only three horses from the previous 13 renewals have raced more than three times.

It’s also interesting that John Gosden has never won this race. He, along with son Thady, has a chance to break that duck with Epicetus, who won his maiden at Newmarket before finishing second to Godolphin horse Silver Knott in the Group 3 Autumn Stakes - which is a very similar two runs to Magna Grecia, who was beaten in the same race by Persian King before progressing to win here.

Other players include King Of Steel, trained by Galway native Dave Loughnane, who was more than willing to talk up his chances this week, while Holloway Boy bids to further the extend the reputation of the Chesham Stakes, having scored in that unique contest earlier in the season.

THEY thought it was all over last weekend when Colin Keane extended his lead to four in the race to be champion jockey. Paddy Power went as short as 1/8 about the defending champion but Billy Lee has come roaring back this week, and just before we went to press last night he had already ridden two winners for James McAuley at Dundalk, to put himself back in front by one.

As if the battle wasn’t intriguing enough, Aidan O’Brien has entered the foray, booking Lee to ride Hiawatha, the €1.2 million full brother Luxembourg, in the Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown today.

Lee has only had 11 rides for O’Brien in his career, but he’ll also ride Lambada in a fillies maiden this weekend, while Keane also has a ride for Ballydoyle in the colts and geldings maiden today on newcomer Sloane Ranger.

Keane has also attained the support of Jessica Harrington who has booked him to ride Village Voice in the Eyrefield, with stable jockey Shane Foley unavailable this weekend.

The reigning champion also rides the nicely bred Verlinga in a fillies maiden for Harrington at the Curragh tomorrow. The Meath native has 13 rides in all this weekend while Lee has 11. The season finale will take place at Naas in two weeks’ time. The odds as we went to print yesterday were 1/2 Keane, 6/4 Lee.